In preparing to weld two pipes to one another, or one pipe to a fitting, it often is necessary to face off each end of the pipes so that the ends of the pipes are even. This is necessary because if the ends of the pipes are uneven, it will be difficult and more time consuming to weld the ends together. Further, if the ends are uneven, the joint where the two pieces of pipe are welded together will be of poor quality. When the uneven ends of the pipe are welded together, the joint will expand or contract unevenly due to the unevenness of the heat generated during the welding process. This will cause the pipes to pull out of position which effects the quality of the joint, the flow of the fluid through the pipes as well as the appearance of the joint.
Thus, when pipe fitters or other persons cut pipe, it is necessary to determine whether the end of the pipe has been cut evenly. It is important to have the end of the pipe evenly cut because when two pieces of pipe are welded together, the joint is of better quality if the ends of the pipe are even.
Currently, in order to determine whether the end of the pipe has been evenly cut, a person in the pipe fitting field uses a two step procedure involving a standard carpenter's framing square and a large flat grinding disc which are used in conjunction with a hand-held grinder. Using this method, a person alternates between the framing square and the large disc to perform the visual inspection of the end of the pipe. This method does not provide a very accurate procedure for determining the evenness of the pipe end because it requires the person to alternate between the framing square and the disc. In addition, this method does not show the person exactly where the pipe end needs to be ground down to become square and faced up evenly. Furthermore, this method is not efficient because it requires the person to perform a series of steps alternating between the framing square and the disc.
Thus, there exists a long and unfilled need for an apparatus and method which will provide a one step method for examining the evenness of an end of a pipe which is more accurate and more efficient to use.